Edith Hale (1859 - 1900) possibly neeTownsend (General)

by lesleyr , London, Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 20:35 (4967 days ago)

Hello,
I am trying to find out the maiden name of an Edith who married Thomas William Hale around 1880. Thomas William Hale was the son of Lucy Whittington and Henry Hale.
I know from the 1881 English, 1891 Welsh and 1900 USA censuses that she was born in English Bicknor. And I know that she died at the age of 41 in Roslyn in the US state of Washington. She had emigrated to the US in 1896 with her children Lilian, Thomas Henry, Lavinia and Edith Amy. Her husband Thomas joined the family in early 1900 and Edith died later that year. Roslyn was a coal mining town - a cousin of Thomas's, Mitchel Hale, had gone to work there but was killed in the 1892 mine explosion there.
I was alerted to the possibility that Edith's maiden name might have been Townsend by a family tree on the Ancestry website but so far enquiries to the tree owner have had no response. The 1861 and 1871 censuses show an Edith Townsend of about the same age as Edith hale in English Bicknor so that would fit. Her parents were John and Mary and she had siblings Jane, Mary and John.
However I cannot find a baptism or birth record of Edith Townsend in the Forest area. And the only marriage so far found between a Thomas Hale and an Edith Townsend was in Nuneaton, Warwickshire in 1878, a place that (as far as I know) is not connected with either.
I would like to think that Edith Townsend and Edith Hale were the same person but I have no proof. Is there anyone on the forum who is connected to Edith Townsend and can help me out?
Looking forward to any clues,
Lesley